School Super Takes Next Step In Hiring Process

With nearly two dozen applications

One of the tasks on White Salmon Valley Schools Supt. Jerry Lewis' calendar this week is to schedule preliminary interviews with applicants for the job of Columbia High School principal.

The posting for the position closed March 26 after yielding nearly two dozen applications.

"We received 23 applications from applicants from within our state and outside of our state," Lewis said. "We will most likely interview six candidates in a first round of interviews, and either two or three in the final round."

The next steps in the hiring process, he went on, will be to identify a pool of applicants for the first round of interviews, then to contact each candidate on the short list by week's end to schedule interview appointments.

"The first round of interviews will be conducted by an interview team of Columbia High School staff, students and parents," Lewis noted. "The goal of this first interview team is to identify the finalists who will advance to the second round of interviews."

Finalists for the position will be interviewed by the school district's administrative team and two members of the White Salmon Valley School District's board of directors.

A successor to outgoing CHS Principal Malcolm Dennis--he's retiring after five years on the job--will be selected this spring in time to start work on July 1.